Keyboards 'dirtier than a toilet'

This here's a news! from bbc:

Consumer group Which? said tests at its London offices found equipment carrying bugs that could cause food poisoning.

Out of 33 keyboards swabbed, four were regarded as a potential health hazard and one harboured five times more germs than one of the office's toilet seats.

Microbiologist Dr Peter Wilson said a keyboard was often "a reflection of what is in your nose and in your gut".

During the Which? tests in January this year, a microbiologist deemed one of the office's keyboards to be so dirty he ordered it to be removed, quarantined and cleaned.

It had 150 times the recommended limit for bacteria - five times as filthy as a lavatory seat tested at the same time, the research found.

Full news here

And where would the "mouse" place in the charts?

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Memehopping:
1. kottke.org
2. gelfmagazine.com - Toilet Bowls are super Clean
3. news.bbc.co.uk - Keyboards 'dirtier than a toilet'

Chinese Companies Outsourcing to US

Now this is weird stuff. Just when I thought every job in the US is being outsourced to China, this one works the other way around. From the LA Times: Chinese firms bargain hunting in U.S.

Liu spent about $500,000 for seven acres in Spartanburg -- less than one-fourth what it would cost to buy the same amount of land in Dongguan, a city in southeast China where he runs three plants. U.S. electricity rates are about 75% lower, and in South Carolina, Liu doesn't have to put up with frequent blackouts.

About the only major thing that's more expensive in Spartanburg is labor. Liu is looking to offer $12 to $13 an hour there, versus about $2 an hour in Dongguan, not including room and board. But Liu expects to offset some of the higher labor costs with a payroll tax credit of $1,500 per employee from South Carolina.

Spotted via boingboing. Back to work.